Day trip to Ireland

[mikeg]

I have a week's holiday next week and a significant number of days of this week. I'm thinking of taking a day trip to the Republic of Ireland as Ryanair (yeah, I know) are offering some very cheap flights to either Knock or Dublin, timed ideally for a day trip. Never set foot in Ireland before so would like some pointers. Was thinking of incorporating a rail journey, hence this thread.
I'm aware neither of these airports have rail links and I'd likely be getting the bus to the station. Which airport is preferable? I was thinking of going to Dublin simply because and doing something on the line to Cork, simply because the 201s look possibly rateable? Of course I could be horribly wrong. I'm also looking to do this on a budget, but am aware that IE have banned split and over distance ticketing on pain of prosecution (please let's hope our companies don't get ideas) so probably nothing that could be described as a loophole. Any experience of booking advances? Would it be worth it? The fares seem a tad steep (but then so are ours, I know)...

What sort of DMUs am I likely to get from a station near Knock? Anything worthwhile?


Or should I give up the whole broad gauge bashing idea and just enjoy a day out to one of Ireland's cities by bus and plane? I have so many questions, maybe I should do a little more research but have already invested several hours of time with few solid answers. Although doing this on a budget, what sort of first class is offered on IE? Is it as bad as Southern's or as good as VTECs for example?

Edit: I just realised Knock isn't really timeable for a day trip... Dublin still is so it looks like it's Dublin.

Also ran into an issue with getting the bus to Heuston station from Dublin airport... The buses seem to pick up and drop off in the wrong way. Any solutions?

 

[krus_aragon]

Dublin Bus operate a 747 service between the airport and the city centre. It runs to and from Heuston station via the main bus station (BusÁras), which is adjacent to Connolly station. Leap cards (which can be bought at the airport) can be used on the 747, but it's excluded from the city centre caps. (747 costs €6/€10 iirc).

I haven't travelled on them myself however, as I've only ever sailed to Ireland.

 

[Springs Branch]

If you're just there for a day and want to combine a bit of city sightseeing in Dublin with a half-day scenic jaunt on the 5' 3" gauge along the Irish Sea coast (literally!), you could consider the train to Bray or Greystones.

It's 747 bus from the Airport to Connolly station, then either a DART train or, if you time it right, one of the Rosslare DMUs (Class 22000?) down the coast. The IE timetable doesn't seem to show any u or s restrictions for Dublin/Bray/Greystones journeys on the longer-distance trains.

The DART service runs frequently, so you have flexibility with departures if you're delayed anywhere along the way. You can also plan to do an EMU one way and a DMU the other if that's of interest to you, and could still have time for a bit of a look around Dublin.

 

[mikeg]

Thanks both for your advice.

Would I be correct in thinking that a €10 visitor leap card would be the most appropriate fare for me? It appears to be valid on the 747.
The only thing that's confusing me is this:

DART and Commuter Rail in the Short Hop Zone (all of Dublin city and county) - See more at: https://about.leapcard.ie/leap-visitor-card#sthash.tz8wfWKY.dpuf

The Rosslare service is branded Intercity, yet there seem to be no separate fares listed for this as long as I'm only going as far as Greystones and the fares table makes reference to the DART short hop zone. Would the visitor leap thus be valid on the Rosslare service as far as Greystones?

 

[berneyarms]

Yes it is.

You can use the Intercity trains between Connolly and Greystones, and Connolly and Maynooth with any valid suburban ticket.

 

[Taunton]

Even if the times to/from Knock allowed a day trip, it's miles from anything. Not only from a railway, but from anything.

The bus from Dublin airport takes you to Connolly station, on the north-south Dart electric line, either Bray in one direction or Howth in the other are reasonable return trips. The tram line, universally known as "The Luas", connects Connolly to Heuston station, avoiding what is otherwise a notably lengthy and tedious walk.

 

[168lover]

I have family who live in Ireland so go there at least once a year. Dublin will definitely be your best bet for an arrival airport. Dublin is a great city. The best thing in my opinion to do in Dublin is the Guiness Brewery and I'm not old enough to drink! If you would like anymore advice feel free to send me a pm.

 

[Flying Snail]

Thanks both for your advice.

Would I be correct in thinking that a €10 visitor leap card would be the most appropriate fare for me? It appears to be valid on the 747.
The only thing that's confusing me is this:

The Rosslare service is branded Intercity, yet there seem to be no separate fares listed for this as long as I'm only going as far as Greystones and the fares table makes reference to the DART short hop zone. Would the visitor leap thus be valid on the Rosslare service as far as Greystones?

The €10 1 day visitor Leap is the best fare for what you are looking at doing, it is valid on the 747 bus.

A regular Leap card has a €10 multi-operator daily cap on top of the €5 refundable deposit but the 747 bus is not counted towards the cap so it is more expensive.

Any train that stops within the Short Hop Zone (Balbriggan, Greystones, Hazelhatch, Maynooth) is valid with this ticket although none of the Loco Hauled services (Dub-Cork, Dub-Belfast) do.

Intercity railcars are used on Dub-Sligo (first stop Maynooth) all non LH services out of Heuston and some Rosslare line services, other diesel services are mainly 2900 railcars with some IC units also used on commuter runs.

An alternative to the 747 bus is the 102 service which links Dublin Airport with Malahide and Sutton stations.

http://www.dublinbus.ie/Your-Journey1/Timetables/All-Timetables/102/


If you want an Inter-city trip then online (advance purchase) fares are significantly cheaper than open fares with the usual caveats of quotas.

 

[Sniffingmoose]

If you only have a day I would reccomend the DART especially if short of time its good to head south towards Bray. The coastal views alone make it worth it. When I last travelled on the system there were locomotives and Mark 3 coaches everywhere and the only tickets were simple singles or returns! Staff were very relaxed. Even cab rides were easy to get, especially on light engine shunting movements around stations, you just had to ask the driver. I wonder if that has changed.

 

[hurricanemk1c]

Very much changed I'm afraid with CCTV everywhere

 

[Flying Snail]

When I last travelled on the system there were locomotives and Mark 3 coaches everywhere and the only tickets were simple singles or returns!

That is not true. Day/week/month/annual rail and rail/bus tickets have been available as long as I can remember and I recall the introduction of DART and the Mk3s. As a child I has a nice collection of the 10 journey Almex tickets that my father used to commute with, each journey would be checked by the ticket gates taking a chunk out of one side of the ticket.

I don't know if it was available in the '80s but certainly from the early '90s until a few years ago a single ticket that was valid on the vast majority of scheduled rail, bus and coach services in both ROI and NI was available. If any such ticket was available in Britain before bus de-regulation there has been nothing like it since.

 

[LBSCR Times]

When I last travelled on the system there were locomotives and Mark 3 coaches everywhere...

How much of this has changed too?
I'm going out there later this year for the first time for over 10 years,
although travelling on IE is more optional than definite.

 

[hurricanemk1c]

The system is railcars now except for the following:

0700, 0900, 1100, 1200 (FSO), 1300, 1500, 1700, 1800, 1900, 2100 (SO) Heuston - Cork (201 + Mark 4)
0700, 0920, 1020, 1220, 1420, 1520 (FSO), 1620, 1820, 2020 Cork - Heuston (201 + Mark 4)

0650, 0800, 1235, 1405, 1805 Belfast Central - Dublin Connolly (201 + Mark 3 EGV + DD)
0935, 1100, 1520, 1650, 2050 Dublin Connolly - Belfast Central (201 + Mark 3 EGV + DD)

 

[LBSCR Times]

The syste is railcars now except for the following:

0700, 0900, 1100, 1200 (FSO), 1300, 1500, 1700, 1800, 1900, 2100 (SO) Heuston - Cork (201 + Mark 4)
0700, 0920, 1020, 1220, 1420, 1520 (FSO), 1620, 1820, 2020 Cork - Heuston (201 + Mark 4)

0650, 0800, 1235, 1405, 1805 Belfast Central - Dublin Connolly (201 + Mark 3 EGV + DD)
0935, 1100, 1520, 1650, 2050 Dublin Connolly - Belfast Central (201 + Mark 3 EGV + DD)

Thanks for that....

 

[mikeg]

I went to Ireland on Tuesday, thanks for your suggestions. In the end I got the DART train as far as Bray from Tara Street station (happened to be in that part of Dublin at the time) and got a DMU back to Connoly.

Have to say I was quite impressed by the DMUs, there seemed to be two types in use on that line, mine was a class 22 (if they're numbered anything like British DMUs that is, it was 22 314). Engine noise was a bit soulless but the interior was very nice indeed, quite spacious and the tables and windows actually lined up. And the majority of seats were table seats, so much better than many DMUs in GB.

As for the DART, I see they have a similar attitude to Merseyrail with feet on seats, something which I approve of was that there were signs warning of a €50 penalty for doing this.

I have to say the other sort I saw looked a bit tatty looking in, but at least it made a decent sounf (well, for a DMU)... even produced a small amount of clag when accelerating Didn't get on one though. I may go to Ireland again, I do feel that even though I have received great advice here I should have planned it better/spent longer than a day there. If I'm there for longer and can afford the ching would definitely do one of the loco hauled lines.

 

[hurricanemk1c]

Ahh Set 14 - had a few miles on that when she was glued to the Hazelhatch shuttles!

The 22000's are very good units all told - reasonably comfortable and reasonably quiet, as well as very good runners.

29000's (which is the other DMU you saw) are good commuter units but you don't want to go to Sligo on one

 

[Minilad]

I have just booked a Ryanair flight for a day trip on 27th April. Will be going specifically for the loco hauled trains on the Cork route though.
Never done a train in Ireland before so looking forward to it

 

[F Great Eastern]

The issue is the 22000's are supposed to be longer distance trains and the 29000's shorter distance trains, however some diagrams are contrary to that and the 22000s are awful at rush hour on commuter runs with very little room to stand whilst the 29000s are not suited to longer runs

 

[DT611]

The issue is the 22000's are supposed to be longer distance trains and the 29000's shorter distance trains, however some diagrams are contrary to that and the 22000s are awful at rush hour on commuter runs with very little room to stand whilst the 29000s are not suited to longer runs

I would agree with this. I have witnessed 22s do suburbans myself and they just aren't suitable. 29s are over capacity for long distance services apart from the very odd exception. I think the reasons (and i'm open to correction) for the random generator on the connolly side are maintenence schedules and insuring heuston has 22s only (cork loco services aside)
Mind you that is no consolation for the passengers who turn up for long distance services expecting a level of comfort and a suburban turns up. A great advertisement for the bus or car tbh.